Chapter 376: Fragile Immortal Sword

Tao Tianye was equally helpless, spreading her hands in resignation. "There was nothing else I could do. While constructing the illusion, I stumbled upon a glaring issue: people fabricated entirely out of thin air always carry an unsettling, artificial look."

"Later, Master told me this is a common pitfall in illusion crafting. Whether you invent someone from nothing or stitch together traits from several familiar faces into one, it always turns out glaringly fake."

"So I had no choice but to use the likenesses of people I actually know. I went through everyone in my mind, then consulted Master, the Second Elder, and the Eighth Elder. In the end, we unanimously agreed that the Sect Master's visage was the most fitting."

"Senior Brother, because you know the Sect Master so well, you lack a sense of immersion when you see him as the protagonist. But outsiders won't feel that way; they don't know him at all."

Lu Yang: "......"

Fine, she actually made a fair point.

The Fifth Elder spoke in a slow, measured cadence: "If we set aside Old Nine's appearance, the plot is actually quite entertaining."

Previously, the Fifth Elder had never entertained such a thought, but experiencing this illusion suddenly made him realize that disguising oneself as a low-level cultivator, only to reveal one's true cultivation at a critical juncture, seemed remarkably satisfying.

The Fifth Elder discerned the immense commercial potential inherent in Tao Tianye's invention. It held an absolute allure for mortals and low-level cultivators alike, and even for mid-to-high-level cultivators, the appeal remained potent.

Moreover, rolling out this illusion system would be simple, allowing for large-scale production.

Setting up the illusion itself wasn't difficult; Tao Tianye had whipped together a framework in less than half a month. If word got out to the wider world, counterfeits would inevitably crop up.

The true difficulty of this illusion system lay in whoever thought of it first.

They needed to apply for a patent as soon as possible.

"The array and the talismans operate as a single set. Have you come up with a name yet?"

"Not yet. Senior Brother, could you help me think of one?" Tao Tianye turned to Lu Yang for assistance. Senior Brother Lu possessed a highly active mind and always offered unique insights.

"Me?" Lu Yang was just enjoying the spectacle; how had the spotlight suddenly shifted to him?

"Let me think... The illusion is not real. Though one becomes deeply immersed while watching and wishes to take the protagonist's place, a profound melancholy sets in once it ends. After all, it is but a reflection in the water, like a dream or a phantom, possessing no actual existence... Why not call it..."

"Dream of Phantoms and Bubbles?"

"Dream of Phantoms and Bubbles?" Tao Tianye's eyes lit up. She silently repeated it several times, finding that the more she chanted it, the more brilliant the name sounded.

"Excellent, let's call it 'Dream of Phantoms and Bubbles'!"

"Dream of Phantoms and Bubbles, a fine name." The Fifth Elder nodded. He had always reposed great trust in Lu Yang's naming ability.

His own title, the Heavenly King of Myriad Treasures, had been given to him by Lu Yang.

"Martial Niece Tao, do you have any more talismans? I need to take them back to handle the patent application."

"Yes, yes, I do." Tao Tianye hadn't expected the Fifth Elder to agree so readily. She handed all the remaining talismans to him, then rolled up the array scroll and handed it over as well.

After putting away the talismans and the array scroll, the Fifth Elder recalled something else, a meaningful smile playing on his lips. "Filing for a patent is no difficult task, but Martial Niece Tao, have you considered who the patent actually belongs to?"

"Who does the patent belong to?"

Seeing the Fifth Elder's smile, Tao Tianye finally remembered that she had merely provided the core idea. Turning the illusion into talismans and streamlining the array had all been accomplished by the Second Elder and the Eighth Elder.

Strictly speaking, the Second Elder and the Eighth Elder held a stake in the patent as well.

How much of it would they want to claim, or did they intend to buy out the entire patent from her hands?

She had heard that some sect elders took pleasure in forcibly seizing their disciples' fortuitous opportunities, leaving the disciples with no choice but to swallow their grievances in silence.

Grandpa Ba laughed and playfully shoved the mischievous Fifth Elder away. "You brat, you've been covertly wicked since childhood. Back when we plundered the treasury of the Nine Nether Sect, your sneaky efforts were only slightly less than Old Eighth's!"

The Sixth Elder cast a ghostly gaze toward the Fifth Elder, causing a cold sweat to break out across his back, forcing him to wave his hands in frantic denial.

"Just playing a little joke on a junior. She needs to understand the perils of the world. Getting a memorable scare from me is far better than being cheated by outsiders, wouldn't you say?"

Grandpa Ba spoke in a warm, gentle tone: "Martial Niece Tao, neither Old Eighth nor I lack for this patent, nor do we have anywhere to spend spirit stones. Our assistance to you was merely to find something to occupy our leisure hours. The patent is entirely yours."

The Eighth Elder nodded from the side. He never engaged in schemes that defrauded his own sect.

Tao Tianye was deeply moved. Once the 'Dream of Phantoms and Bubbles' began earning spirit stones, she would absolutely repay the sect.

As Tao Tianye and the others departed, Lu Yang remained behind, which left the Fifth Elder rather perplexed.

"Martial Niece Lu, do you have some business?"

"Nothing major. I just wanted to ask, has my flying car patent made any money?"

The Fifth Elder grew even more puzzled. "It made money, yes. I already handed the spirit stones over to Martial Niece Yun. Did you not receive them?"

After ensuring his memory hadn't failed him, Lu Yang gave a resolute shake of his head.

"Now that is strange. Why don't you go ask Martial Niece Yun what happened?"

Lu Yang: "......"

He suddenly felt that patent fees weren't all that important after all.

No, no, no, he mustn't think that way. Those were spirit stones he rightfully deserved; he absolutely had to clarify this with Eldest Senior Sister!

"Immortal, how about you handle this on my behalf?"

The Immortal Fairy was just enjoying the show; how had she suddenly been dragged into this?

"Huh?"

"Immortal, you have never feared Eldest Senior Sister, right?"

"Exactly. A mere girl like Yun, who could possibly fear her?" The Immortal Fairy said, stiffening her neck. She could not display any timidity in front of Lu Yang.

Lu Yang applauded the Immortal Fairy's courage.

"You and I share one body. Your business is my business, and my business is your business, right?"

"Right."

"Then wouldn't it be perfectly appropriate for you, Immortal, to ask Eldest Senior Sister?"

"It does seem to make sense... Fine, rest assured, leave this matter to me!" The Fairy thumped her chest in guarantee.

"There is one more thing." As Lu Yang spoke, he retrieved the immortal sword from his identity jade token—the one forged by Immortal Ying Tian and once wielded by the Qilin Immortal.

"Could you take a look at this flying sword? Can it be repaired?" A single Green Peak Sword wasn't quite enough; Lu Yang wished to forge another sword.

The moment the flying sword was produced, the Fifth Elder's eyes went entirely wide, his lips trembling uncontrollably. "Good heavens... This is an immortal sword, a sword forged by an immortal! Where on earth did you find this?"

"I scoured it from a street stall at the Qingzhou Grand Gathering."

The Fifth Elder looked at Lu Yang with immense envy; this boy's luck was truly heaven-defying.

The Fifth Elder shook his head. "As difficult as ascending to heaven. A sword forged by an immortal is indestructible. Even if a heavenly tribulation were to descend, it could not damage it in the slightest. Don't look at how this sword is snapped in two, with only half remaining; if my guess is correct, it must have been the result of a cataclysmic battle."

Lu Yang nodded. When the geniuses of the Dragon and Phoenix clans discovered the Qilin Immortal's fraud, they undoubtedly unleashed their fury upon him. It was indeed a cataclysmic battle.

The Fifth Elder assumed a look of yearning. "A battle of that magnitude is not something you or I can comprehend. Only a clash of that caliber could destroy an immortal sword."

"You might not believe me when I say this. Seeing how fragile this sword looks, do you think I could just snap it with a simple twist, like this?"

As the Fifth Elder spoke, he gave the immortal sword a casual twist.

Crack—

A faint cracking sound echoed, and the immortal sword snapped into two pieces.

The Fifth Elder: "......"

How many spirit stones would he have to pay to compensate for an immortal sword? Would selling himself even be enough?